Lava Queen

Sriracha sauce - It's said to be the No. 1 hot sauce around and it makes everything taste good! Unfortunately, I've never tried it before... Last week, there was a small competition organized by a Facebook cooking group that I'm in and coincidentally, one of the prizes is THE famous Sriracha sauce! For the fun of it, I joined. This is the first time I join this kind of competition coz most of them are themed or needed a slogan, and I really SUCK at slogans >.< This one was simple; just post a home cooked dish or meal together with a #hashtag... The next thing I knew, I won! Lucky me!! :D And so my prize arrived today. I am eager to try the Sriracha sauce but haven't thought of what to cook with it yet. Then I thought, how about making a drink with it, just for a change? Ta-dah... I present to you my Strawberry Sriracha Margarita: A nice cocktail with a hint of hotness! Do take note that the alcohol intensifies heat, so be careful with the amount of hot sau...

I simply love the earthy taste of tempeh. Love eating it in Gado-gado (an Indonesian salad) but preparing the ingredients and making the peanut sauce is too much for a lazy person like me :P Been craving for tempeh, so when I saw it at the supermarket 2 days ago, I decided to buy it. Was wondering if I should just fry and eat it as it is <Lazy mode> but that would end up more like something to snack on. Then I remembered seeing a post on a homemade sambal recently which looked so gooood (I was literally drooling when I saw the pictures)!! I told myself "Yeah, I will try making that.... SOMEDAY... when I'm not lazy." Haha... And after thinking hard for some time, I thought, why not change that 'someday' to 'today'? Of course, mine is a simpler version, basically just pounding everything together. You can choose to use the food processor, which makes the work much easier, but I felt that pounding makes it more authentic :) You can also add more chil...

Note: NO sharks were harmed in the making of this soup! 👅 Nothing beats a warm bowl of light and healthy soup on a rainy night :D Shark fin melon is a type of squash and it's a popular ingredient used in Chinese soups. As you may have guessed, this melon is called shark fin melon because its flesh breaks apart into slivers resembling shark’s fin when cooked. According to Wikipedia , it is said that eating this melon can help people with diabetes, due to its high D-Chiro-Inositol content.  This is how the shark fin melon looks like. The skin looks a little like watermelon . The whole melon is huge, so we normally buy a 1/4 of it, or 1/2 if it's a slightly smaller one. Some say the seeds are soft and edible after cooking but I prefer to remove them. The taste of the soup may be mild at first but as you simmer, the flavor of the melon, dried scallops, carrot, honey dates and pork bones really do come together, creating a sweet yet savory taste. M...

You know how parents sometimes treat you like a kid even when you are a full grown adult? Well, my dad thinks I'm still the kid who likes eating chocolates, so he likes buying them for me. I used to like them when I was in Australia but not anymore after coming back (The weather here is just too hot and I get heaty quite easily -_-). Though I've told him that I don't really eat them anymore, he will still say, "Dark chocolates are good for health" and then leave a bar or 2 in my fridge every time he comes over. Lol...  Thus, what to do when I have chocolate bars sitting in the fridge and I don't wanna let them go to waste by throwing them away after the expiration date? I use them to make cakes or pies! That way, I can share them with neighbor, friends, and hubby can bring to work to share with his colleagues too :D  This choco-nana bread that I made today is rich, moist and tender (You could call it a cake, if you like, but the texture is more dense). I re...

I've tried dining at this Signature By The Hill twice before but my attempts were to no avail; 1st time it was full house and the 2nd, they were closed for some private function. Yeah, yeah, I know what you are gonna ask next: "Why didn't I call to make a reservation first, huh?" . Well, the thing is, I go to One Utama Shopping Mall pretty often and it's only when I need to scratch my head thinking what to eat, then this place would appear in my head >.< But hey, people say the third time's a charm, right? True enough, I made it this time. Haha. Wasn't planning to write about this place but since the service was good and my dining experience was pleasant, I felt it deserves a post. From the moment we stepped in til we left, there was literally a waitress standing nearby to attend to our every need. She was attentive, ensuring our needs were well taken care of throughout the whole night and was patient with our LO. She even brought our LO a balloon af...

Made these orange mini cupcakes for teatime. This has got to be the simplest and quickest recipe ever! All you have to do is dump everything into a blender (or a food processor - I didn't have one), blend, pour and send them into the oven - all within a few minutes! :P You can decorate them with some icing/frosting/cream <I was lazy. Oops, sshhh...>,  or simply add a bit of orange peels for some extra chewy texture like what I did :D  These orange mini cupcakes are so soft, moist and delicious!! Ingredients: (Makes 9 mini muffins) 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 60g unsalted butter, softened 50g brown sugar (Lesser if your orange is very sweet) 1 egg 4 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, sifted 1 tbsp orange zest Orange peel, thinly sliced (Optional) Preheat oven to 180°C and line a mini muffin tray with paper cups. Put all ingredients ( except orange peel, if you are adding. Stir them in right before pouring the mixture into paper c...

From the name, you should be able to guess what kind of food do they serve. Yes, it's OINK OINK ! Located in the jam-packed area of Bandar Puchong Jaya, Cerdito specializes in Iberico pork, using it in both Asian and Western recipes. Once you enter, you are greeted by a comfortable yet elegant setting. With its contemporary interior, Cerdito is perfect for casual dining and also to impress your loved ones. It may look kinda posh, but rest assured that the prices here are pretty affordable. Iberico Pork Sticks (RM30). Hmm? Why aren't they skewers, like the name? It was written as "Iberico Sticks/Golden Crisp" in the menu, so... no sticks?? Apparently we mentioned the word 'golden', so they came in bite-sized portions - small chunks of Iberico pork, placed in the mini cup made of dumpling skin, topped with sweet and zesty salsa dressing. Well, the waiter did not explain that to us. I was looking forward to the skewers >.< Here comes the main s...

Hubby met up with his ex-colleague after work, so dinner tonight was just me and my LO. Bought some kimchi mandu (dumplings) from Village Grocer 2 days ago and I thought of cooking them tonight, but I had to make something non-spicy for LO too. Then I remembered I had some glass noodles left, so I started digging to see what other ingredients have I got in the fridge and YES, they were enough for me to whip up some Japchae to go with the dumplings. Japchae, or Korean glass noodles, is a very flavorful and nutritious dish that can be served as a main meal, snack or appetizer. The glass noodles ("Dangmyeon") used are made from sweet potatoes. They have a unique and pleasant texture, and don't feel heavy like flour-based noodles. I didn't have the Korean ones, so just had to make do with the normal ones that I have at home :P LO doesn't eat bell peppers/capsicum, so I've omitted them and I didn't have spinach, so I used boy choy instead. Mine is a meatless ve...

These chicken wings are surprisingly delicious, considering that it only involves 4 ingredients. At first I was kinda worried if they would turn out too 'mustardy' but they were tasty, not 'mustardy' at all! And when hubby opened the door, he said, "Wow, something smells GOOOOD!" :D It's simple, quick and GOOD! Gonna try it on ribs next time :) Ingredients: (Adapted from a recipe online) Approx 400g chicken wings 1 tbsp light soya sauce 3 tbsp Dijon mustard 1/4 cup brown sugar Roasted sesame seeds, for garnishing (Optional) Mix light soya sauce, Dijon mustard and brown sugar together in a bowl. Place wings in a resealable bag. Pour marinade over wings and coat them well. Seal and marinade wings for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Remove wings from resealable bag and transfer them to the prepared tray. Save marinade liquid for basting. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30...

This is my second visit to One City Mall USJ. First time was to visit the skyroof, to step on the see-through glass floor, where one can see whatever that is under his/her feet and feel the glass wobble when the wind blows or when someone walks pass <Supposedly not for the faint-hearted :P> But due to poor maintenance, the glasses are now dirty and I can't really see what's below clearly anymore >.< Then, some picture I saw caught my attention, so here I am again, to the Great Hall this time. The Great Hall @ One City Mall USJ offers a wide variety of drinks and food with interesting China references (Chairman Mao's revolutionary spirit, to be exact). They serve whimsical recipes like 'Mao's Mushroom Moustache' & 'Mao & His Chips' and drinks like 'Mao's Chamber' & 'Mao's Eden'.  Nu Er Hong (RM60). Pour and drink from a bowl :) This is the reason why I'm here. Hehe. Nu er hong (女儿红) is a varie...